[left]Hello everyone…. Yesterday I was in Damascus for the sake of searching books and buying some in order to have references for our study… the trip was so successful and of course anyone will be fascinated by everything in Damascus, but I contemplated in some matters and found that:

First, I wonder why here in Homs, there is not that good market of books!!! Why all good and wonderful books are in Damascus??? I know that it is the Capital, but Homs is also a big city and deserves to have such a market!! Are Homsi people not interested in buying and reading books??? Once I asked a Homsi library owner, and he answered me that no one still in need to books here!! Are we really like this????? I know that the net lets us have an access to many educational sites and to have many and different information, but I think that the book is still another world, don't you think so??? I'm sure that even the Europeans those who invent technologies do not leave books!! I'm sure that those books are the sources of their inventions!!!

Second, I know that books are expensive everywhere….. but not to this extent!!!! Yesterday I felt that some libraries won't let us buy anything, as if they say to us look, see how many books we have, but don't buy anything!!!! I think that libraries here are for trade only!! Not to help others be educated easily!! I'm not saying that they must sell books for free, but I think that if prices are more reasonable, then all people will buy books without thinking too much about his/her financial ability!!!!

Frankly speaking, I laugh too much when thinking that youngs outside this country have dreams, for example, to travel all over the world or to buy villas in the most amazing lands, while some of us here dream to establish his own home-library!!![/left]

Roula
Wow what a nice topic, and if you want my say, you said the truth.....
In here, the cheapest book price is 600 Lira or 500 Lira, while the same book in US does not go higher than 3 or 6 US, sure there are books cost 20 or 25 USD, and they will be here 5000 Lira at least.
First People in here do not buy niether English nor Arabic books.
Second Even the information of the net and e-book are not the source, but only to save, and if someone interested they print them down on paper and those are so few.
For books I adore these material; my aunt traveled to Toranto and told me that people there read books even when they walk, in trains, in bus, in gardens, and no one looks at the another, not like here, people's most important stuff to see what this does and what that acts.

Yeah for the homy library, my shelfs are growing month after month with books which I feel them like fruits, some classic, some horrible novels, some non-fiction, another murder and thrill.
Stephen King is the god of dreadful eventful novels, and Shakespeak with his complete works is the masterpiece of the whole.

Roula let your library grows day by day, for oneday it will be so big and so fantastic for urbans like us

I hope you will fulfil your dreams Roula

What about me, do not you wish me to make a big library, not for show, but for reading too

[left]Frankly, Roula this is our community. Here in hama you can't find a short story in all libraries. All glory to Allah that you tripe to Damas was successful, but I think that you learnt something from this tripe that to depend in all sources to satisfy your need.
I extremly agree with you that here is so difficult to have a book, but one thing is more difficult is to dream.!!!!
Hope you all the best in your life.[/left]

[left] thank you, but I didn't know your attitude towards books, are you with or against??
then hope you also acheive your dream whatever it is
Osama,
thank you for your comment...then you don't like books!!! but u said before that Wethring Hieghts pleases you, then books have a special impact on you.. Hey Sheba, I'll wish you that coz we share the same dream.......... God help us not to be a dream!!
Anyway thank you for your shared feelings [/left]

[left] thanks Obada and that's what I'm saying.... is having a book a DREAM??? [/left]

[left] yes and I saw that when we were in the British Cultural Center... there was an old woman about 80 years, and she was handling books and reading and she astonished me deeply...
Nawwar,
thank you.... yes that's true and I said that here books are for trade not for making us enjoy being educated....[/left]

Roula
Thanx Allah for your success in your journey It's really a big problem about buying books . I don't know why we can't find the books that we want to get though I think that a city in Syria has named The Capital of Islamic Culture but really some cities don't appriciate that
Even in our university when you wanna borrow some books , you don't find all of them

Anyway , I wish you good luck in your study Roula